


SPIDEYTORCH

by Nanerich



Category: Fantastic Four, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bisexual Peter Parker, Identity Reveal, M/M, coming-out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 13:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20341258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanerich/pseuds/Nanerich
Summary: Johnny Storm is really into Spider-Man, even though he doesn't know who's hiding under that mask.Peter Parker thinks Johnny's pretty cool, funny and quite attractive. But that couldn't mean anything, after all Peter is straight.





	1. The One Where Johnny Finds Out Who His Crush Is

“Hey, flamebrain, once you’re done checking out Spidey’s ass, mind helping me out here?”

Johnny was grateful that his flames hid all blushing. “Ha, ha, very funny”, he yelled back at Ben and hoped he sounded more annoyed than embarrassed.

“Young love…”

“Shut it, Rocky”, Johnny hissed, as he flew by Ben, close enough to have singed off his eyebrows, if he had any.

“Boys, now is not the time”, Sue called, from somewhere over by that hydrant. As cool as it was, that his sister could turn invisible, it admittedly freaked Johnny out from time to time. Not that he’d tell anybody.

Although, he did tell Spider-Man. It was weird, even though Johnny did not know who was under that mask, he didn’t feel any need to keep up his walls around that guy; webhead once said something about it being easier, talking to a guy with no face. Which was a shame, Johnny would really like to know, who hid underneath these red spandex…

“Focus!”, Sue yelled, but, before Johnny knew what was going on, the Hand Ninja that was about to ram his sword through Johnny, was webbed up.

“Man, just what would you do without me?”, Spidey asked as he landed next to Johnny.

“Since I already crash and burn with you around…”, Johnny shot back, “let’s maybe not dwell on it.”

“Better not”, he snickered. “Since we’re done here, I should get going. Tonight, same place, same time?”

“Sure thing”, Johnny grinned back.

“Alright! Bye Sue! Bye Reed! Bye Ben! Get bent, Johnny!” With that, he disappeared behind a rooftop.

“Aw, you two are really adorable”, Ben grinned and ducked just in time, to avoid the fire ball, Johnny shot his way. Pity. His fire didn’t hurt Ben, at least not at normal temperatures, though probably nothing about this was normal.

It did however leave really nice scorch marks that usually took Ben a few days to get rid of. Johnny was especially proud of that one time he actually managed to burn a heart into Ben’s back. What was even better, before Ben could really get mad at him, Johnny had told Alicia that Ben asked him to do this for their anniversary. Although she didn’t buy one word of it, she played along and saved Johnny from being clobbered.

“Ben, lay off Johnny”, Reed decreed, “and Johnny, you might want to keep your distance from Spider-Man. You don’t know who that is, we don’t know who that is, so…”

“Not this again”, Johnny groaned. “I think I’ve heard this speech often enough to recite it forwards, backwards and in my sleep. So just drop it. FLAME ON!” With that, he flew off.

He heard his sister call after him, but he didn’t really care. Yes, they had a point. He had no idea who was under that mask, what the real Spider-Man was like, or even looked like! For all he knew, Spidey could be twice as old as Johnny, a thirty-something year old guy, living in his Mum’s basement.

But did that really matter all that much? They got along great, they worked well together, and Johnny really had a lot of fun with him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, sorry I’m late”, Peter called, as he all but skipped into the common room.

“And you smell of smoke. Did you team up with the Fantastic Four?”

“Yeah, kicked some Hand Ninja ass”, he grinned, really proud of himself.

“You’ve really teaming up a lot with the four”, Natasha remarked. “Especially the Torch”, she added with a smug grin.

Unfortunately, Nat had a point. Peter liked Johnny, fighting as well as just hanging out. Peter really liked Johnny a lot. But that was nothing he planned on indulging, especially not with Mr Stark, or Nat.

“Well, without me, Johnny would have been impaled today”, he shot back, trying to ignore Nat’s suggestive tone and sway the subject away from interpersonal relationships and to Peter’s badassery.

“Good for him”, Tony shrugged.

“Wow, no need to be impressed or anything”, Peter moaned, before dropping next to Nat on the couch.

“I for one think you’re a bad-ass-mother-…”

“NAT! Language”, Mr Stark interrupted, his eyebrows raised, and his scolding-finger pointed towards her.

Peter and Nat just exchanged a look, her rolling her eyes and Peter biting down his giggle.

“I am terribly sorry, Daddy Stark”, Nat just answered, Peter wasn’t exactly sure how she managed to deadpan like that, but kudos.

“No”, Tony told Nat and looked over at Peter. “Before this goes any further downhill, lab?”

“Hopping right along”, Peter grinned and followed Tony into the lab.

.

“You’re late”, Peter was greeted, as he climbed up Lady Liberty.

“I was late to the Avenger’s compound because I had to save your ass, so Stark kept me there a little longer to make up for it.”

“Well, your hotdogs are almost cold”, Johnny shrugged.

“Seriously?”, Peter shot back, “you’re literally made of fire.”

“Dude, this is free food. Take it or leave it.”

“Your laziness is taking advantage of New York’s broke population”, Peter stated as he grabbed the hot dog.

“My laziness can afford to do that”, Johnny grinned before sat on the crown, letting his feet dangle.

“You’re an idiot, flamebrain.”

“Right back at you, webhead.”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Shit, shit, shit. It was official, Johnny was in so much trouble! But how? How could he be into a guy, he didn’t even know the name of? And besides, he was pretty sure that Spidey was straight. Ugh. The cute guys always were. Was Spidey cute, though? Probably. He sounded cute, so…

He shuffled into the kitchen, where breakfast was already waiting for him. And the Daily Bugle. With a giant picture of Spidey on the front page, something about ‘that menace’ breaking property during yesterday’s fight.

Ugh. Every time Spidey did something good, The Bugle managed to turn it around on him. Yesterday, Spider-Man saved a whole bunch of people, including Johnny! But sure, when he got knocked over by a ninja and crashed into a window, that was definitely the part to focus on.

“Sue, I’m at school!”, he called. Not quite true, he had to do something else first, something important. He was just way to angry, on webhead’s behalf. He couldn’t go up against JJJ, he tried that before, but Sue stopped him. So, he had to go after the next best person. Peter Parker.

Johnny found him two streets from Midtown and landed right in front of him.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

“Uhm, currently that I’ll be late for chemistry”, Peter answered, wide eyes and a slightly flushed face.

“No, what is your problem with Spider-Man?”, he clarified.

“I don’t have a problem with Spider-Man”, Peter tried to defend himself, but come on!

“Sure, that’s why you keep on embarrassing him in your freaking newspaper.”

“Listen, I don’t know if you can see it from the high horse you’re sitting on, but some people need money any way they can get it”, he hissed, trying to push past him.

“As if, you work for Tony Stark!”

“Storm, how about you just keep out of things you don’t know anything about?” With that, Peter walked away and left Johnny by himself.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Wow, how fun. Getting cussed out by his friend, for screwing himself over? That could only happen to Peter. It was sweet, though, how Johnny came to Spidey’s rescue. Really sweet, actually.

But how could Peter tell Johnny about who he was? He wouldn’t want anything to do with either Peter or Spider-Man anymore and Peter definitely liked him too much to lose him. Even if it meant showing one of his favourite people only half of himself.

“You look like you’re in a mood”, Ned observed, as he dropped down next to him.

“Good Morning, how are you?”

“That bad, huh?” Ned raised an eyebrow. “That anything to do with the Bugle article this morning?”

“Kinda”, Peter shrugged, “Johnny Storm just dropped by and told me how horrible I am for working at the Bugle.”

“Aw, he’s protecting your honour”, Ned cooed, “how sweet!”

“Yeah, well, he isn’t, is he? He’s protecting Spidey’s honour. Man, it’s really easier being Peter and keeping Spidey a secret from friends than the other way around…”

“Good Morning, everybody!”

Before Peter could bitch a little more about the stupid situation, he had gotten himself into, classes started. Maybe chemistry would take his mind off things? But he doubted it.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

After being late for school, Johnny had gotten detention. Yay! Unfortunately, his ‘I was doing superhero-stuff’- excuse did not count anymore. At least not, unless Sue or Reed had signed it off.

So, instead of saving the world, or sitting at home, playing computer games, which was the more likely alternative, he sat in a classroom, staring at the clock, counting the seconds until he could fly out of here. Right, he wasn’t allowed to do that anymore! And just because he burned down a few spirit-week banners… It was totally not on Johnny, though, those posters hung way to low.

Detention was so useless, anyways! Him and a few guys sat around in a classroom, while their teacher was buried in a book. Unless they didn’t kill each other or scream around, Mr Jackson didn’t even bother.

So, Johnny had nothing to worry about, when his phone vibrated. Message from Spidey. His heart might have skipped a beat, which he would deny vehemently if anyone accused him of it, though.

.

**Webhead: **Hey, you busy?

**Johnny: **Kinda. Why, what’s going on?

**Webhead: **Doc Ock. Could use another set of hands

**Johnny: **I’d like to help out, but I’m in detention…

**Webhead: **Damn! What did you do?

**Johnny: **I was a little late this morning, had something I needed to take care of first

**Webhead: **That sounds… Screw you, Doc!... ominous…

**Johnny: **Yeah, well, I’m an ominous guy…

**Webhead: **Not the answer I was hoping for

**Webhead: **If you don’t want your arms to be webbed together, you shouldn’t have them!

**Webhead: **No, KAREN, don’t send that to Johnny!

**Webhead: **Or that…

**Johnny: **Really got the Doc under control, hey?

**Johnny: **Might want to concentrate instead of texting

**Webhead: **Don’t worry, I can multitask. So, what did you do this morning that got you detention?

**Johnny: **I’ll tell you later

**Webhead: **Oh, come on! You know I’m more curious than that!

**Webhead: **FUCK! Dude, don’t do that, that’s how people get hurt!

**Johnny: **What did he do?

**Webhead: **He punched me with a metal arm

**Webhead: **Man, that’s gonna be all purple and bruised tomorrow…

**Johnny: **Listen, if I run out of detention, Sue’s gonna ground me. Call the Avengers to help out!

**Webhead: **Yeah, Mr Stark is already on his way, bringing some of the guys

**Webhead: **Just wanted to ask you to join, too

**Webhead: **It’s fun, fighting with you, I really like it

**Johnny: **Yeah, I like you, too.

**Johnny: **And hey, if you haven’t beaten him by 5pm, I’ll come and help out

**Johnny: **What, now that the Avengers are there, you don’t want to talk to me anymore?

**Johnny: **I’m talking to you!

**Johnny: **Webhead?

**Johnny: **Dude, you’re kinda worrying me

**Johnny: **WEBHEAD, YOU BETTER ANSWER ME RIGHT FUCKING NOW

**.**

That was not a good sign. A very bad sign, actually.

Thankfully, bystanders livestreamed the entire thing and he could get immediate news coverage of the situation.

“No watching movies in detention!”

“It’s the news”, Johnny shot back, not planning on switching it off.

Doc Ock was roaming through downtown, breaking everything in sight, but there was no sign of Spider-Man. Shit. Something had happened, and now on of his favourite people lay in a ditch somewhere.

“Sorry, we’ll have to make up for this some other time.” Johnny jumped out of his seat and ran towards the open window. “Flame on!”

When he got to the site, Doc Ock was already defeated, the Hulk holding him down, the arms a blinking mess, probably electrified by Thor.

“Where’s Spider-Man?”, Johnny yelled to the assembled heroes.

“Stark’s looking for him right now”, Captain America called back.

“Thanks!”, he called down, before gaining altitude again, looking around all the alleyways and rooftops.

“Stark!”, he cried, as he saw Ironman flying up from an alleyway, “where’s Spidey?”

“What are you doing here?”, Stark called back, still looking around.

“Same thing as you! We were talking, and all of a sudden, he doesn’t answer anymore!”

“Great, so thanks to your distractive abilities, he’s hurt, and we can’t find him. Good job, Storm, very well done.”

“Hey, this is not on me, and I’m just as worried!”

“Shut it, ‘cause I don’t care.”

“But I do!”, Johnny yelled.

And then it got weird.

“Marco.” It was faint, quiet, but Stark seemed to have heard it, too, as he stopped in his tracks, looking to where that voice came from.

“Marco?”

“Polo”, Johnny called back, ignoring Ironman’s weird look, well, it probably was weirded out under that mask.

He must have done the right thing, though, because there it was again: “Marco!”

“Polo!”

It went back and forth a few times, but eventually, he and Ironman found Spider-Man balled up on a roof.

“Oh god, kid, are you alright?” Tony’s mask dropped as soon as they landed, him going into full-on worried-dad-mode.

“Hey, Misark”, he mumbled. “Johnny? You’re s’psed to be ‘n de’ntion.”

“And now I’ll get grounded. Thanks to you”, he grinned back.

“Kiddo, how are you feeling?”

“’m dizzy. An’ sore.”

“Ok, I’ll take you to the compound, let Bruce give you a check-up”, Stark decided, and carefully scooped Spider-Man into his arms.

“I’m coming, too”, Johnny said, already flaming on.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am!”

“Storm, you go back to detention or home or whatever or I’ll call Sue.” Stark sounded adamant and frankly quite condescending and Johnny did not appreciate that.

“Issokay, Misark”, Spider-Man mumbled, as he cuddled against Stark, “Johnny’s nice. I ask him to come.”

“And he’s here. But you need a doctor, not a bonfire.”

“Bu’ I like him!”

“I know you do. You two can talk, once you’re feeling better, ok?” Stark gently patted the masked head and Spidey tiredly nodded.

“’kay. Bye, Johnny.” With that, he pressed his face against Stark’s chest which could not be comfortable with that Iron suit, but he was probably way too out of it to really realize anything.

Johnny stayed on that rooftop, looking after them, after the red spot disappeared in the distance.

He flamed on, flying a bit aimlessly over the city. If he flew there right now, he would be back at school for the last thirty minutes of detention. He should probably go there, maybe Sue won’t ground him that long then, if he went back to detention.

So he did. His teacher and his classmates shot him quite confused looks, probably because he came back.

“Sorry”, he shrugged, not really in the mood to explain anything. Instead, he just dropped back on his seat, and did his best to ignore everyone else.

.

**Tinman: **Storm, I’m sorry for my earlier attitude towards you. Thank you, for being concerned about Spider-Man’s safety.

**Johnny: **What is wrong with you?

**Tinman: **Screw you, nothing’s wrong with me

**Johnny: **You never apologized, or thanked me for anything, ever! So, what happened?

**Tinman: **My fiancée forced me

**Johnny: **That sounds more like it 😉

**Tinman: **Whatever

**Johnny: **How’s webhead?

**Tinman: **Concussed, bruised, even with his spider-healing it’ll take him a few days

**Tinman: **But he’ll be alright

**Johnny: **Good 😊

**Johnny: **Thanks for telling me!

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

“Are you sure, you should be back on your feet already? I mean, you need to heal!”

“Ned, I’m ok.” Peter tried his best to sound convincing, even forced a smile, which still hurt, because of that damn bruise on his jaw. “Besides, if I stay at home, we can’t go to the LegoStore together. And I still have the voucher I got for my birthday”, he added with a grin.

“Man, using Lego against me like that is not fair”, Ned grumbled, “I should be concerned about you right now! But instead I’m really looking forward to roam the mall.”

“Wow, what a moral conundrum!” Peter jokingly rolled his eyes.

“So”, Ned changed the topic, “you got saved by The Torch?”

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That eyebrow-wiggle.” It felt very suggestive to Peter, like Ned knew something Peter didn’t.

“I have no idea what you mean”, Ned lied. Very obviously.

“You’re a horrible liar, you know that, right?”, Peter scoffed.

“I know.”

“But yeah, Johnny and Mr Stark found me. Things are really fuzzy, though”, Peter just shrugged. “I don’t remember all that much…”

It was really sweet, actually, that Johnny came to his rescue. It hadn’t even gotten Johnny grounded, since he returned to detention and Mr Stark apparently made a call to Sue to attest to Johnny helping him safe Spider-Man or something like this.

Good for Johnny. And, apparently bad for Peter. Because who was at the mall, eating ice cream with a bunch of his classmates? Johnny freaking Storm. Peter had to admit, it was really nice to see him in something else than his FF-uniform, and he looked really good, with that flannel over an AC/DC shirt.

Peter would have really liked to say hi, but after the Doc Ock incident, there was a wonderful piece in the Bugle about how Spidey was supposed to save people but couldn’t even handle a few metal arms.

May had actually hidden all the copies in their neighbourhood she could find, but still. It really sucked. And he, as Peter Parker, was not involved in that article, since he was a little banged up, but that probably didn’t matter to Johnny.

“Sure, you don’t want to say hi?”, Ned asked, as he spotted him.

“No”, Peter shook his head, “he’s only friends with Spider-Man, not with me, so…”

But it was too late. Johnny saw him and Ned and quickly walked over, starting to bitch before he even got close to them. “Listen, Parker, that last Spidey-article was just plain wrong, I mean, he is so good at saving people, the way you and your Bugle always manage to turn it around is… Shit, what happened to you?” Now that he was close enough, he inspected Peter’s bruised face.

“Hey, Johnny. I was not involved in that last article, and I agree that JJJ is really pushing it. And I… I fell down the stairs”, he lied, hoping it sounded convincing.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. What’s it to you?”, Peter shot back. He sounded more antagonistic than he meant to, but he wasn’t that much better at lying as Ned. So, the sooner this interrogation was over, the better.

“I’m sorry.” Johnny raised his hands defensively. He looked Peter up and down, and all of a sudden, something in his look changed. “Yeah, I’m really sorry, really, really… Sorry.” With that he turned around and walked away, leaving Ned and Peter where they were, with their mouths gaping open in confusion.

.-.-.-.-.-.

No, no, no, no, that just couldn’t be! Maybe if Johnny refused to believe it, it wouldn’t be true? Right, ‘cause life worked that way.

Let’s look at this logically. Peter works at SI, where he’s Tony Stark’s fav. Spider-Man is practically like a son to Ironman.

Peter manages to take perfect pictures of Spider-Man. Always. If it happened once, maybe twice, then Johnny would chuck it up to good luck. But every freaking time? Nah, definitely not.

And now, Peter walks around with the exact same bruises as Spider-Man. So, falling down the stairs? Bullshit!

He hadn’t realized where he was going, until now: He was on the Statue of Liberty. Their spot. It still was, wasn’t it?

Was he pissed at Peter for lying? For keeping this from Johnny? Or was he pissed at himself, for not figuring it out sooner?

“Wanna talk about it?”

He looked up, Spider-Man in front of him, clearly in pain.

“You are grounded for a reason, you idiot!”, Johnny yelled, as he jumped up. “Are you alright?”

“Eh, I will be”, he shrugged. “More worried about you right now.”

“Well, it’s not everyday you figure out, who’s underneath that mask.”

“Fair enough”, he shrugged, and pulled the mask off his face. “Are you mad?”

“Yes”, Johnny nodded after taking a deep breath. “Though I’m not sure whether I’m mad at you or myself.”

“You’re welcome to let it all out on me. Though maybe not physically, at least not right now”, Peter quickly added with a skew and meek grin.

“Just… why?”

“I was scared you wouldn’t want to hang out anymore”, Peter admitted, sliding down to the ground. “I mean, you really don’t like Peter Parker, but I really like you, so I was… I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Johnny sat down next to him. “But, why work at the Bugle?”

“He’s gonna write shit like that anyways, might a well make money for it and, being the photographer, I can make sure that I at least look good.”

“That’s actually really good reasoning”, Johnny laughed. “I’m impressed, that’s smart.”

“Thanks”, Peter grinned back, quite crookedly, since half his face was still pretty messed up.

“I have to admit, I’ve refused to accept Peter Parker for anything else than a sell-out, besmirching my friend’s name.”

“Gotta say, it’s been weird, you cussing me out about Spider-Man, but it’s actually really sweet. There aren’t too many people that would defend me so vehemently.”

“Yeah, only a little embarrassing knowing what I know now.” Johnny felt himself blushing and looked away.

“No, it’s not”, Peter shook his head, and put his hand on Johnny’s arm. “I’m really moved that you would do that for me.”

“Yeah, well…” Johnny had no idea what to say.

“If you need distance, I get it.” Peter slowly got up; Johnny could clearly see it took him everything not to groan at the pain.

“I think that for now I should get to know Peter Parker”, Johnny decided, helping Peter to his feet.

“I think, I can arrange that”, Peter grinned, before pulling the mask back over his face. “I also think I should go now, though. Once Mr Stark realizes where I am, he’ll ground me, literally. As in locking me in at the compound.”

“I don’t doubt that”, Johnny giggled. “Want a ride?”

“Yes, please”, Peter sighed, “everything hurts so much!”

“Hold on tight, then!”

.

**Webhead: **Thanks. For being cool about… you know

**Johnny: **I think it’s in my nature not to be cool, ever

**Webhead: **You’re an idiot

**Johnny: **Which one of you said that? Just so I know, who to be pissed at

**Webhead: **Both.

**Johnny: **After I just flew you home? That’s the thanks I get?

**Webhead: **So, you’re a wuss, too?

**Johnny: **That’s it. NO MORE HOTDOGS FOR YOU!

**Webhead: **Yeah, I like you, too 😊

.

Man, so Spidey was not only funny, nice, a great listener and awesome superhero-partner, no, he was mjalso really beautiful and admittedly, quite hot. Johnny was in so much trouble…


	2. The One Where Peter And Johnny Are On A Date

“Yo, webs, need a hand?”

“How’d you get that idea?”, Peter shot back, surrounded by ninjas.

“One knight in shining armour, coming right through!” With that, Johnny send enough fireballs, lighting the ninjas up as if it were Guy Fawkes’.

“Dude, you’re supposed to light them up, not me!”, Peter coughed, getting a bit too much smoke.

“Wuss”, Johnny rolled his eyes and, not without one extra showy summersault, he punched the last baddy in the face.

“Show-off”, Spidey grumbled, before he webbed all of them together. “KAREN, tell the police to pick ‘em up. And matchstick, I think you deserve an ice cream, for saving my ass”, Peter decided.

“I’m always a slut for gelato!”

“Come on, that place over there is pretty good. Besides, I get special treatment there”, Peter grinned proudly.

“Shall we, then?” Johnny held his arm out and with a snorting giggle, Peter linked their arms and together they walked into the parlor.

“Omigod, that’s Spider-Man and The Human Torch!” Obviously, everybody was staring at them, in their superhero getups, smelling of smoke and Johnny probably had a bit of a bruise on his face, from where one of the ninjas got him. Johnny just readied himself for pictures and fangirling, when two girls in a booth to the side took the prize: “Are they on a date?”

Huh?

“It really looks like it”, the other whispered.

Until now, Johnny hadn’t even realized, how they were all up in each other’s personal space, almost cuddled together.

“I totally ship it”, the first girl giggled.

What the fuck? Johnny looked at Peter who didn’t seemed to have heard it, as he calmly placed their orders.

It’d be actually really great, if this were an actual date. He could hold Peter’s hand, maybe even kiss him…

The longer they sat together, the more it seemed like an actual date. They were giggling sharing their ice cream, even feeding each other. Before today, it never occurred to Johnny how datelike this, for them very normal, behaviour was.

Even if it wasn’t an actual date, this way Johnny could at least pretend. It wasn’t ideal, but for now? It wasn’t all that bad.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

So, that just happened. Peter had tried his best to play over it, but thanks to his enhanced hearing, he couldn’t help but hear those girls, giggling about Spidey and Torch being on a date. In all honesty, if he had been there with Gwen or MJ, Peter would definitely have classified it as such, but being here with Johnny was different though. Up until now, Peter though that was because they didn’t go on dates. But since apparently they did…

But Peter couldn’t be into Johnny, he was straight after all. Right?

RIGHT?

Johnny was cute, though. And really good looking; Peter may have caught himself staring once or twice.

Uh, what was happening? Peter needed help, right freaking now. He couldn’t go to Mr Stark or May. Maybe Nat? She was a lot less terrifying than she looked and really god at listening and giving advice.

.

**Peter: **Hey, Natasha, are you busy right now?

**Nat: **Pete, for you I always got time. What’s up?

**Peter: **Can we meet up? I could do with some advice…

**Nat: **Sure thing! Usual place?

**Peter: **Perfect! See you there! 😊

.

Peter sat in a booth in the corner, so they could have as much privacy as a coffeeshop could offer. More private than the compound though, with FRI seeing and hearing everything, Clint crawling through the vents, no one knowing if he’s there, listening in or not, and of course, there’s Mr Stark who just knew everything.

“Hey Peter”, Nat smiled, as she slid into the booth.

“Hi Tasha”, he grinned back, handing her the drink he already got for her. That’s right, Peter knew Black Widow’s coffee order!

“Thanks, kid.” She grabbed the cup and after a deep sip, she locked eyes with him. “So, what’s up?”

“Yeah, so… I’m not sure, but I think I maybe was on a date earlier…”

“You think?”

“Maybe”, he shrugged, feeling himself blushing.

“With whom?”

“Johnny Storm”, he admittedly quietly.

“Oh, really?” He didn’t look up at her; but he could hear the smug grin. “How about you tell me, what happened.”

“Fine. So, Johnny and I fought these ninjas earlier, well, I fought them, he helped me out. So, as a thanks, I invited him to ice cream. While we were at the parlour, some girls whispered about Spidey and Torch being on a date and then I kinda realized how date-like it was, but I think I’m straight, though I’m really not that sure anymore, but I’m also not sure whether I actually like Johnny, like _like _like him and I’m just really confused.”

“Wow.” He looked up at Nat again and a small smile played over her lips. “Well, I don’t want to sound like a dick, but I had my suspicions… I mean, you have been teaming up a lot lately and when you’re not fighting, you’re meeting at the statue of liberty. Don’t look so shocked”, she shrugged, when his face dropped, “Stark has you chipped, remember?”

“Right”, Peter nodded.

“Anyways, what was it that felt so date-like to you?”

“I don’t know”, he shrugged, “there’s just always like zero personal space, which I usually hate, because of the spidersenses, you know? But it really doesn’t bother me at all! And I don’t know, I just tell him everything, even before he knew my identity and real name. I also really think he’s attractive, like so hot, actually. And, it just makes me wonder, you know?”

“You wonder, if it’s just a really good friendship or more”, Nat nodded.

“Exactly. I just always thought that I was straight, and now… It’s all so very confusing!”

“Confusion isn’t a bad thing, though. That’s how you find out if something’s there.”

“So there is something between me and Johnny?” Peter was only a little overwhelmed. Why couldn’t Nat just tell him exactly what was going on and what Peter should do next?

“That’s nothing I can tell you for sure, but I think there might be.”

“Huh.” Peter wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that. His stomach did feel a little funny, but whether that was bad or good, Peter had no idea. “What should I do then?”

“I think you should talk to Johnny, even if it’s awkward. Talking honestly and openly about your thoughts is important to get you and Storm on the same page.”

“Because, if something is there, it won’t amount to anything if I don’t trust him”, Peter finished Nat’s train of thought.

“Exactly.”

“Thanks Nat, I really feel so much better now!”, he smiled over. He really did. Sure, Peter was still plenty confused and there were a lot of questions he still had to deal with, but at least he had somewhere to begin.

“Of course! I’m honoured that you trust me with that. And I’m so proud of you! It’s a lot of tough questions you’re facing and it’s a long, at times difficult process. I’m happy to be there for you, every step of the way.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course”, she grinned, “we spiders got each other’s back.”

.

**Webhead: **usual place

**Flamebrain: **now?

**Webhead: **yup

**Flamebrain: **on my way

.

“Now, would you look at that, Webs is here before me”, Johnny laughed as he landed next to Peter.

“I just for once would like a hot hotdog”, Peter shot back.

“Oh yeah, well, I didn’t bring any…”, Johnny shrugged meekly and flushed a bit.

“I’m not hungry anyways, I just need to talk to you.”

“Figured. What’s up?”

“Ok, here it goes… Where we on a date this morning?”

“Uuuh…” Johnny’s flush intensified, “I honestly don’t know.”

“I’m not sure, either.” Peter just had to get all of this out right now. He took a deep breath but as he started talking, he avoided looking at Johnny. “I’m not sure about a lot of things, actually, especially, where you’re concerned.”

“Ok…” Johnny clearly didn’t follow what Peter was getting at.

“What I mean is… I like you. Like a lot. And I’m confused, because… I’m just confused.”

He looked back up at Johnny, who seemed to get it know. “Oh. That kind of confused?”

“Yeah”, Peter nodded, blushing quite a bit.

“Huh.” Johnny’s face lit up as a smile spread from ear to ear.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“It’s not funny! It’s… Look, I like you, I really like you, that way, you know?”, he added with a shy grin. “Knowing that I make you question a thing or two feels nice.”

“I’m so incredibly happy that I could boost your ego like that”, Peter deadpanned.

Johnny just snorted a laugh before he turned back to Peter. “Forget my ego. Thanks for telling me, for being honest like that. And I get it, it’s really confusing. If I can help you somehow, let me know, if you need space to figure yourself out, I’m happy to take a step back and give you all the time you need. And, if you decide that you’re not into guys and don’t like me like that, then that’s fine, too. I’m your friend and here to support you in any way I can.”

“Wow, that’s… that’s really nice.” Peter was admittedly a little lost for words. He would have really liked to throw himself into Johnny’s arms, but that would probably not help his current conundrum.

“That’s just me, your friendly neighborhood Human Torch.”

.

**Peter: **So, I just talked to Johnny…

**Nat: **And? How’d it go?

**Peter: **really well! I told him that I’m questioning things, that he makes me question things. He then he said that he likes me, you know, that way, but says that he is happy to give me all the time and space I need to figure myself out and to help me with that any way he can

**Nat: **Wow, that sounds so great! I’m happy for you 😊

**Peter: **That’s all thanks to you, Spider Mama!!! 😊

.

It’s been two weeks, since Peter and Johnny had their little talk. It was all good, but Peter did take up Johnny’s offer of some space, some distance for Peter to figure some things out.

And he did figure something out: that he really missed Johnny. He missed the smell of singed everything, his quips and jokes, he missed the disgusting hotdogs and Lady Liberty.

It was almost embarrassing; when the FF came on TV the other day, he couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, when Johnny smiled into the camera.

That was it, Peter just had to see him.

.

**Webhead: **Usual place, don’t bother with hotdogs.

**.**

“Ok, I just need to get this out right away.” Johnny had barely landed and Peter did not give him the chance to even say hello.

“The last two weeks, I missed you. Like really missed you; it sucked majorly. There’s still so much I haven’t figured out yet, so much I don’t know, but what I do know, is that I’d like to try this thing, this ‘more than friendship thing’ and kiss you, if that’s alright with you.” So far, Peter stared on his toes, not daring to look up at Johnny, until now.

Johnny had the wides grin on his face and took two careful steps towards Peter. “I’d really like to kiss you, too.”

Gently, Johnny put his hand on Peter’s chin, rolling the mask up to his nose, leaned in, and before Peter knew it, their lips met. Peter just melted. It was only a soft touch, but it felt electric, like lightning surged through his entire body. It was incredible.

As Johnny pulled back, Peter realized, he had stopped breathing. “That was really good”, he sighed, after he caught his breath again.

“Agreed”, Johnny smiled back, “Can we do that again?”

Grinning widely, Peter leaned back in, but just before their lips touched, KAREN started talking. “Mr Stark is calling.”

“Are you kidding me?”, Peter groaned and turned away from Johnny, who looked only slightly confused. Right, he couldn’t hear her.

“Mr Stark’s calling”, he explained with an eyeroll.

“Damn, he’s got impeccable timing…”

“I know. But if I don’t answer it, he’ll track me and be here before we know it, so… KAREN, please put him through.”

“Hey, buddy.”

“Hi Mr Stark.”

“Are you on your way to the compound already?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Can you get some snacks on your way here? Thor finished all the chips and it’s just not a movie night without sour cream and onion.”

“Let me get this straight, you, the billionaire, send the pennyless student to get your food?”

“Well, the billionaire is going to reimburse the student for his troubles. Besides, you’re my intern, it’s your job to run my errands.”

“Oh, for reals?”

“For reals. Now, get a move on, we’re all waiting for you.”

“Yes sir!”

“Call ended.”

“Thanks, KAREN. Sooo”, he turned back to Johnny.

“Gotta go?”

“Yeah… You’re not mad though, right?”

“I just got to kiss Spider-Man, tonight I’ll go to bed with the widest smile on my face!”, he assured Peter with a wide beaming face.

“Me too”, Peter grinned. “Just to make sure though, one for the road?”

.

“Finally!”, Bucky greeted him, “we’ve all been waiting forever!”

“Sorry old man, it’s not that easy to swing through the city with a bunch of shopping bags hanging from my arms.” Peter dropped the bags with chips and what nots on the coffee table.

“Nat, can you help me to get some bowls for the snacks?”, Peter asked, trying his best to sound nonchalant.

“Sure thing”, she nodded and followed him into the kitchen.

The door had barely closed behind them, when Peter turned to her with the widest grin. “Johnny and I just kissed. Twice!”, he squealed.

“Aww!”, she beamed, before putting an arm around his shoulder. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Me too! Ugh, it was really good! I mean, there’s still a whole bunch of stuff I’ve got to figure out, but I don’t really care that much at the moment”, he shrugged.

“And you don’t have to”, Nat assured him, “you have all the time in the world for that. And I am looking forward to hear all the details”, she winked, “but for now we should probably get back inside there, before Stark gets suspicious. But, let me just quickly say that I’m really proud of you. You’re an amazing person and no amount of Redroom-Hydra-Brainwashing will ever be able to say otherwise!”


	3. The One With A Bunch Of Revelations And An Angry Older Sister

“Hot ‘n Heavy, comin’ through!” Johnny landed right in front of Peter, but not without doing a triple summersault first.

“Trying to impress me?”, Peter grinned.

“Only if it worked”, Johnny smirked, taking another step towards Peter.

“I can neither confirm nor deny.” With that, Peter rolled his mask up and greeted Johnny with a kiss.

“Mhm”, Johnny mumbled against Peter’s lips, before pulling back. “Hi.”

“Hi”, Peter smiled back.

They had been seeing each other for almost two weeks and it was really great. They had met most days up here on The Statue of Liberty, plenty of texting and as Reed read a Bugle Article about Spidey doing something or other wrong, instead of getting angry, Johnny caught himself grinning like an idiot. It was admittedly a really good picture of Spidey, Johnny had no idea, how Peter managed that shot.

“So, I brought hotdogs. They’re actually still hot…”

“Wow”, Peter grinned, “so all I needed to do to get a hot snack was to kiss you? I could have done that weeks ago…”

“I would have preferred that weeks ago, too”, Johnny shrugged with a grin.

“Well, thanks for waiting for me. I did figure something out…”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You ready for this?”

“Tell me!”, Johnny squealed, repeatedly boxing Peter’s arm.

“Ok, here it goes.” Peter took a deep breath. “I am…”, he paused for dramatic effect, “not straight.”

“Oh, you think?”, Johnny shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I do”, Peter giggled. “No, but for reals. As a person of science, I looked at this logically. I am into girls; I know that for sure. I mean, I was really into Liz, very much a crush, and…”

“Alright”, Johnny interrupted, “don’t need to hear the details.”

“Sorry. Anyways, I’m into girls. But I’m also into guys, clearly.” He gestured up and down Johnny, who couldn’t help the blush spreading over his face. Peter either didn’t notice it, or gracefully played over it.

Instead, he came to his scientific conclusion. “There is only one logical explanation. I’m bisexual.”

“Well concluded, Mr Spock”, Johnny grinned.

“Live long and prosper.”

“No, but seriously. I’m proud of you. Figuring out stuff like this isn’t easy.”

“Actually, that wasn’t that hard a conclusion”, Peter shrugged, “I think everything that comes next is a lot harder.” The proud grin on Peter’s face dropped and his expression turned somewhat insecure.

“Yeah, I get that.” Johnny moved a little closer and put his arm around Peter, who leaned in. “But you don’t have to do that alone, that’s what you got me for.”

“Aw!”, Peter cooed, “that’s so sweet!”

“That’s just me”, Johnny chuckled. “But I think for now, we can enjoy these still warm hotdogs and if I see that correctly, the sun’s about to set and that’s just plain romantic.”

“You are so cheesy!” Peter snorted as he turned towards the setting sun. His spidey suit was already red, but now also the white of his eyes turned orangey.

“What?”, Peter asked, as he saw Johnny staring.

“Nothing.” Johnny quickly looked away, blushing a little. “You just look really nice, that’s all.”

“I’m wearing a mask”, Peter deadpanned.

“And even with that bodysuit you exude beauty”, Johnny tried to safe it.

“You’re a dork”, Peter scoffed and punched Johnny’s shoulder, a little hard, actually. Johnny lost balance and with a loud, unfortunately not all that manly scream, he found himself on the way down, towards the ocean. But before he could flame on, he was caught by a web.

“Seriously? That’s how you see our dates going?”, he moaned as Peter pulled him back up.

“Is it my fault that you have like zero balancing skills? What kind of superhero are you?”

“I’m not playing Fantastic Four vs Avengers with you”, Johnny stated, as he sat back down.

“Because you’d lose…”, Webs scoffed.

“Uhm, no, I just don’t want to hurt your pride on 10-day anniversary.”

“Aw, it’s our 10-day anniversary”, Peter awed, smiling over at Johnny. “The Avengers would still kick the FF’s butts.”

.

“Johnny, we need to talk.” When he got back home, Sue, Reed and Ben were sitting in the common room, clearly waiting for him.

“Ok, I know, I stayed out past my curfew, but only by like five…teen…thirty minutes. Ok, I’m sorry, please don’t ground me!”

“Currently, I am more worried about who you’re staying out with, not for how long.”

“Huh?” Oh, please, please! Don’t know about Peter!

“We know you’ve been hanging out with Spider-Man. A lot.”

“And we don’t like you in his company.”

“And the influence he has on you”, Ben finished the preface.

“And now to the main argument”, Johnny grumbled as he rolled his eyes. “You have no idea who hides under that mask, you can’t know who that is, what he’s like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Got it. Can I go to bed now?”

“This is not a joke!”, Sue yelled as she jumped up, “we are worried about you!”

“But there is no need to be!”

“And how can we know that?”, Ben continued, “all we know is that you’re running around town with an identity-less vigilante in red spandex.”

“He’s not identity-less”, Johnny groaned. “And he’s nothing like what you think he is! Do you really think I’d be hanging with some bad person? Do you think that little of me?”

“Of course not, Johnny”, Reed tried to smooth things over, “we just don’t trust him.”

“I do, and that should be enough for you to at least give him a chance. I mean, you trust him to save your asses on the battlefield, do you really think he’s such a bad guy?”

“That’s while fighting, that’s a different story. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, when he’s around my little brother.”

“No adult should be that interested in a teenager”, Ben explained.

“Yes, I fully agree with you. That’s why I think that you guys should trust me better than to think I’d fall for something like that.”

Johnny couldn’t believe this. They really didn’t trust him, did they? Sure, Johnny had his playboy image and wasn’t exactly the most responsible person in the superhero world, but still.

“We can all see how head over heels you’re into that guy, don’t try to deny it.”

Man, lying to his sister wouldn’t work, Sue just knew when Johnny wasn’t telling the truth. But what should he tell them? It was not his place to out Peter as Spider-Man to the FF. But he could also not tell them that they were actually dating.

“So, what, you just want me to stop seeing him?”

“Pretty much”, Sue nodded.

“Great”, he shot back as sarcastically as he could. “Sounds like this talk is over. Can I go to bed now?”

“You have nothing else to say?”

“Does it matter? You made your point very clear, doesn’t sound like there’s any room for discussion, is there?”

“I guess not. Good night, then. Sleep well.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

.

**Flamebrain: **there might be a little issue…

**Webhead: **what’s going on?

**Flamebrain: **well, Sue and them just told me they don’t want me to hang out with Spider-Man anymore

**Webhead: **but I’m Spider-Man!

**Flamebrain: **I know :/

**Webhead: **so no more lady liberty? ☹

**Flamebrain: **at least for now…

**Webhead: **you can still hang out with Peter, though, right?

**Flamebrain: **they don’t have any reasons to keep me away from Parker 😉

**Webhead: **good 😊

**Webhead: **you mind keeping it on the downlow, though?

**Flamebrain: **of course! I can imagine you don’t want to come out to your aunt via the tabloids…

**Webhead: **not really, no

**Webhead: **you ok with that?

**Flamebrain: **of course!

**Flamebrain: **all in your own time, whatever you need 😊

**Webhead: **thanks, you’re the best!

**Flamebrain: **I know 😉

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Hey, Pete, everything alright?” They had just gotten back to the compound after a battle downtown, when Nat pulled Peter to the side.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Really? Because you and Johnny have been distinctly distant during today’s fight. I thought, things were going well.”

“They are”, he quickly assured her, “the Four just aren’t all that thrilled that Johnny is friends with Spider-Man, so we’re keeping our distance, so he won’t get in trouble with his sister.”

“Huh.” Nat was quiet for a moment. “That is some bullshit! Why don’t they want you around Johnny?”

“Because they don’t know who I am. They think I’m some twenty-something loser, who lives in his mum’s basement or something like that”, Peter shrugged.

“Ok, in all fairness, I wouldn’t want you to be with a guy like that as well”, Nat admitted. “So, do you want to tell them?”

“I think for now, he’s just dating Peter Parker.”

“That sounds unnecessarily complicated.”

“It is!”, Peter moaned, “but I’m just overwhelmed with everything and I don’t know what the right thing to do is.” He looked up at Nat. “What would you do?”

“Good question… Johnny is a public figure, making this whole thing even more complicated.”

“Yeah, going out on dates isn’t really an option. At least, not until I’m out to May, Mr Stark and the guys.”

“I get that.”

“Huh, that’s Johnny right there”, Peter stated, as his phone started to ring. “Do you mind?”

“Nope, go ahead. I’ll give you some privacy.” With a wink, Natasha disappeared.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, so, I was thinking… How about I introduce my boyfriend Peter Parker to my family? They’d get off my back, Spidey-wise, and we could hang out…”

He said boyfriend! Peter almost started squealing, but just managed to keep cool.

“Uh, yeah…”

“We don’t have to”, Johnny quickly threw in, “I don’t want to push something on you you’re not ready to do yet.”

“No, that’s... That’s actually really smart.”

“Wow, just the word I want to hear in my relationship. Smart”, Johnny scoffed.

“You know me and that this is on the same level as romantic for me.”

“I guess… So, how about tomorrow night?”

“Already?” Wow, that was fast…

“I mean, tomorrow we would have met at our spot, you know? Feels wrong, not to meet up, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really does… Alright then, tomorrow, Baxter Building. Official ‘meet the family’ kind of thing. Cool, cool, cool, cool…” Alright, Peter might be a little nervous.

“No need to be nervous, you know them already, so it’s not that big a deal, right?”

“The last time I met the family, her dad tried to kill me like three hours later, so yeah, I think I got reasons to be wary.”

“Ok, I’ll give you that. I promise you, they won’t try killing you.”

“Even if they find out that I’m Spider-Man?”

“Please”, Johnny scoffed, “they’ll be so thrilled that you’re not thirty, they won’t care.”

“Alright, if you say that…”

“I do. So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Can’t wait.”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Guys, I would like to request a family dinner tomorrow.”

“What’s the occasion?”, Ben asked, dubiously raising that part of his rocky face where he’d have eyebrows.

“I would like to introduce my boyfriend to you.” It felt so weird, but so right to call Peter his boyfriend and he couldn’t hide the blush covering his face.

“You’re dating someone? Who is it?”

“It’s Peter Parker. Tony Stark’s intern.”

“I’m so glad, you didn’t just say Spider-Man”, Sue sighed.

“Well, you were very clear on him, and I do listen, occasionally. Anyways, we met the last time I was at the compound and we’ve been messaging, and I really like him and he likes me and I thought it would be nice if you guys met.”

“It is! Johnny, I’m really happy for you”, Reed smiled.

“I’m happy, too”, Johnny grinned back, “we just gotta keep this between us for now. He isn’t officially out to pretty much anyone yet, and we would like to keep this whole thing on the down low, at least until he is ready to go public.”

“That is very respectful and mature of you”, Sue nodded, sounding almost impressed.

“It is”, Ben agreed, “our little boy is really growing up!”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Armed with a flower bouquet, Peter walked into Baxter Building, where Johnny already waited by the elevators.

“Aw, are these for me?”

“They are for Sue, where I don’t have to worry about them burning down”, Peter stated with a grin, walking past Johnny into the elevator.

“I have a totally green thumb”, Johnny claimed, as he walked behind Peter.

“Allegedly”, he heard their doorman whisper just before the door closed, causing Peter to break out into giggles.

“What?”

“Let’s just say, spiderhearing ain’t a bad thing”, he smirked, “you hear all sorts of interesting stuff…”

“Come on, how about instead of gossiping you greet your boyfriend the proper way?” Johnny grinned and closed the last bit of distance. “Uh, that reminds me”, he mumbled against Peter’s lips. “We never really talked about that…” He leaned back a bit, a shy smile on his face as he locked eyes with Peter. “Are you… I mean, do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Peter did his all to keep from grinning like an idiot and just shrugged. “Eh, I guess.”

“Uh, what now?”

“Sure”, Peter nodded, “why not.”

“Wow, you are so…”

“Insolent? Exasperating? Infuriating? Cheeky?”, Peter tried to help out.

“Hmpf”, Johnny grumbled, “shut up, nerd.”

“Make me.”.

“Fine”, Johnny shot back and before Peter knew it, they were kissing again.

“Yes, I’d like to be your boyfriend”, Peter whispered.

“I should hope so.”

“Ehem…” They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Slowly, they separated and turned to where the elevator had arrived on their floor and Sue, Reed and Ben were staring at them.

“Uh, guys, this is Peter”, Johnny introduced him. and Peter hoped he wasn’t blushing as hard as he feared. Ugh, who was he kidding, it was probably way worse.

“Hi”, Peter greeted them, “it’s really nice to meet you all. Thank you for inviting me!” He held the flowers out to Sue, who cracked a smile.

“It’s great to meet you, too. Come on in!”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Johnny is in lohove”, Ben quietly giggled, as Sue and Reed led Peter into the living room.

“Shut it, Rocky”, Johnny hissed back and just managed to catch himself before burning a nice round patch on Ben’s head. But he was wearing a really nice jacket over his shirt, Johnny did not want to burn it.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever”, Ben snorted.

“So, you are the famous Peter Parker”, Reed smiled, as they sat around the table.

“Uhm, I don’t know about famous…”, Peter answered warily.

“What he means, is that we heard quite a few stories about you”, Sue explained.

“What did you tell them?”, Peter hissed over at Johnny, who could only shrug. He didn’t really tell them anything, except that he works for the tinman.

“He didn’t tell us anything. The Avengers did, though.”

“Yeah, they’re really gushing about you, kid”, Ben smiled.

“Really?” Peter’s eyes lit up in excitement. Man, given that he’s Spider-Man and an Avenger, he’s really quite the fanboy.

“Really. And I have to say, from what I hear, with good reason. I mean, straight A’s, Academic Decathlon team, especially your knowledge in bio-chem is impressive! Anything there is to know about DNA you know, right? And that exoskeleton, you built for the Science Fair? Impressive work, I got to say”, Reed nodded, sounding quite impressed. “It’s a pity, Stark grabbed you, before I got the chance to!”, he added with a laugh.

“Yeah… But how do you know all that?”

“Please tell me you did not background check him”, Johnny groaned.

“Well”, Redd tried to explain himself, “I got some pull at Midtown…”

“Reed”, Sure scolded him, “this is not a recon mission! I’m sorry, Peter”, she turned to him.

“It’s alright”, he nodded, “but good to know, I’ll try not to get into too much of detention, not that you’ll think I’m not good enough for Johnny.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that”, Ben laughed.

Yeah, right. As long as he doesn’t put that mask on, he’s good enough. Ugh, Johnny would have really liked to monologue about their double standards, but they agreed not to out Spider-Man, so Johnny bit down his remarks and just smiled at Peter.

.

**Flamebrain: **so my family really likes you

**Webhead: **of course they do! I’m a delight to have around!

**Flamebrain: **yeah… right…

**Webhead: **but do I have to worry about Reed trying to poach me? Because that’d start an all-out war with Mr Stark and the Avengers and I already did that once, no need to do it again…

**Flamebrain: **I think Reed is definitely aware of that

**Flamebrain: **nothing to worry about

**Webhead: **that’s good 😊

**Webhead: **tell them thanks again, dinner was really lovely and so delicious!

**Flamebrain: **I will *thumbs up*

**Webhead: **alright, I’m so tired, I’m almost falling off the ceiling. Talk tomorrow?

**Flamebrain: **sure thing. Sleep well 😊 :*

.

The next few days were a bit tough. Johnny couldn’t invite Peter every day to his place, and the other options were a little too public for that early in their relationship. So it was mostly through text. Which was fine, totally fine.

“SUIT UP!”, Sue called, causing Johnny to almost drop his playstation controller.

“What’s going on?”

“Alien attack, an all hands on deck situation.”

“Fun”, Johnny commented, as he slipped into his fireproof suit. “I’ll see you there?”

“We’re right behind you, squirt”, Ben called as he got in the heli carrier.

“Please don’t call me squirt”, Johnny moaned, before he jumped off the balcony. “FLAME ON!”

It was a total mess. The Avengers were already on site, Johnny hear the Hulk’s loud growling and lightning going up. He might have almost crashed into a wall, when he saw Spidey, a fact hopefully nobody saw.

“Looks like the Four finally managed to show up”, Stark deadpanned. “’bout time.”

“Please, the guest of honour is always fashionably late”, Johnny called back, before diving headfirst towards the rumble. “Let’s heat this mother up!”

Johnny hadn’t planned on it, but he and webs just seemed to gravitate towards each other. At first, they really tried to keep their distance but before he knew it had happened, he and Peter fought side by side, as perfectly in sync as ever.

At some point, he saw his sister making a face as they went on with their normal banter and yup, now that they were actually dating, Johnny heard how much it was actually flirting. He was just so psyched to see his boyfriend even if it was for only like half an hour and on the battlefield, Johnny would make the best of it.

As usual, the grown-ups, under the direction of Captain America, Ironman and Reed, took care of the mess afterwards, as in talking to the police, with the news, locking those weird alien robots up or whatever. Johnny didn’t really care; he had more urgent matters to attend to, namely his boyfriend slipping into an alleyway after motioning Johnny to follow him there.

“Hey”, Peter whispered, leaning against a wall.

“Hi”, Johnny grinned back.

“I know we don’t have a lot of time, but in the muddle out there, I don’t think anybody’s gonna miss us for a minute or two.”

“I like your style, itsy-bitsy.”

“No, don’t”, Peter shook his head. “I’m not opposed to pet-names, but… just no”, he stated.

“Sorry… Let me just make it up to you.” Johnny rolled the mask up, just enough to get to Peter’s lips and leaned in. Peter closed the last bit of distance and man, kissing Peter felt really good. So good! Johnny’s hands were still cupping Peter’s face and webs put his arms around Johnny’s shoulder, pulling him even closer in.

“Mhm, you’re really good at that”, Johnny mumbled against Peter’s lips.

“I know”, he answered with a smile.

Entangled with Peter like that… Johnny really lost all track of time. Which was a bad thing.

“JOHNNY!”

The shrill cry made him jump and in reflex, he flamed on, accidentally setting Peter’s mask a little bit on fire.

“Shit”, he hissed, turning his back to where the grown-up members of the FF were standing and pulled his mask off, throwing it on the ground, stomping out the flames. Instead of putting it back on or turning around, though, Peter hid behind Johnny’s back to hide his identity.

“I can’t believe you”, Sue shook her head. “Not only did you break the promise to stay away from Spider-Man, no, you’re also cheating on Peter. I’m really disappointed.” With that, she turned around and walked out, Reed following right behind her.

“Once you made sure that his identity is secure, you better get your ass home as fast as you can”, Ben grumbled. “And then it’s clobbering time.”

Ben followed behind Sue and Reed and left the two teens by themselves again.

“Oh fuck.”

“You can say that again.” Peter resurfaced from behind him, and, after inspecting his mask, he pulled it back on. There were a few little scorchmarks on the forehead part and the left cheek, but nothing too bad.

“Sorry I set you on fire”, Johnny apologized meekly.

“Yeah, that’s gonna be fun, explaining it to Mr Stark… That doesn’t matter now. We’re going to your place, we’ll tell them who I am and then you won’t be in trouble for something you didn’t do.”

“No, no, you don’t need to do that!”, Johnny tried to deter Peter from his idea, “let me deal with my family.”

“Can’t do that, sorry”, Peter shrugged, “you’ve been there for me since forever and I’m there for you. That’s just how this thing works.”

“Aw, Peter!”

“Nah, don’t go soft on me now, Storm. Come on.” He grabbed Johnny’s arm and motioned to leave the alleyway behind. “We shouldn’t leave together, there’s still a whole bunch of Avengers out there. So, you go, I’ll be right there. Promise.” He webbed himself up on the roof and Johnny flew in the other direction, towards his home, where he was already awaited by his very, _very_ angry family.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

Man, they wouldn’t even chew him out, first? Damn, they were really pissed. On Peter’s behalf, too! Aw, that was actually really sweet!

“It’s really adorable, how you defend Peter’s honour, you’ve never done that to any of my boy- or girlfriends ever before!”

“Don’t be cute, Johnathan, this is serious.”

Oh shit, Jonathan? He really was in trouble.

“Yes, it is”, Spider-Man announced, as he landed on the balcony and strutted into the living room. “And you will listen to me, before you kick me out.”

Damn, Peter was pretty angry, too. It was actually kinda hot…

“I cannot believe that you think so little of Johnny!”, Webhead yelled, “he’s one of the most considerate, kind and patient people I know!”

“Spider-Man, this is really not a good time, this is the last place you should be right now.”

“Oh no, this is the exact place I should be! So, you see Johnny, kissing Spider-Man, and your first thought is that Johnny must be cheating on his boyfriend? Maybe, there’s another, more logical explanation.” He had barely finished his sentence, when Peter pulled his mask off. “As you can see, Johnny did not cheat on me. As you can also see, I am not a middle aged guy, who’s preying on impressionable teenagers or whatever. And what you should definitely have realized, is that Johnny is so much more responsible than you give him credit for; a fact that hopefully will change now.” As he finished his speech, Peter walked over to Johnny and put his arm around his shoulder.

“I did not see this coming.” After what felt like an eternity of silence, Ben was the first to speak. “Damn, we really screwed up, didn’t we?”

“Yup”, Peter and Johnny nodded in unison.

“I told you guys, he’s not like you painted him to be”, Johnny shrugged.

“We owe both of you a whole bunch of apologies.” Sue looked like she still hadn’t quite grasped what just had happened. “Spider-Man, I mean, Peter, I’m sorry. I’ve said some very bad things about you and I apologize in all earnesty.”

“Same goes for us”, Ben gestured between him and Reed.

“Don’t think it’s me, you should apologize to, though”, Peter shrugged. He turned to Johnny. “It’d probably be best to leave the Four by themselves. Text me later?”

“Sure thing”, Johnny smiled back and winked at Peter, as he jumped off the balcony.

“Kid, I’m sorry.” Ben took two steps towards him, “I never even thought that Spidey and Peter could be the same person!”

“That’s not the point, though”, Johnny shot back. “You didn’t trust me. You didn’t trust me to be around Spidey, even when I told you that he’s a good guy!”

“You’re right”, Sue nodded, “this is about you. I’m really sorry that I didn’t have more faith in you. I’ll work on it, I promise, on Mum. I just hope, you’re not gonna shut us out.”

“Even though, we’d deserve it”, Reed admitted.

“Didn’t you just hear Peter? I’m way to considerate for that”, Johnny grinned.

.

**Flamebrain: **things are alright. It’s gonna be a bit bumpy, but hey, at least we’re on the same page

**Webhead: **glad to hear it 😊

**Flamebrain: **man, what you had to say… I never knew you cared *heart eyes*

**Webhead: **yes, you do

**Flamebrain: **ok, maybe a little bit… 😉

**Flamebrain: **was still hot…

**Webhead: **well, my boyfriend is the Human Torch, I gotta try and keep up 😉

**Flamebrain: **I think you’re doing a great job

**Webhead: **thanks 😊

**Webhead: **I’m guessing, you get to see Spidey again?

**Flamebrain: **I am no longer kept from going out with my boyfriend, yeah

**Webhead. **Good. Tomorrow, same place, same time?

**Flamebrain: **can’t wait :*


	4. The One With Secrets And Just Enough Miscommunication

Peter was in a fantastic mood. This past week, Flash had barely made any remarks regarding Peter’s… everything, he had gotten an A in French and last night, he and Johnny had a really great superhero-patrol-turned-date-night. And now, he was swinging towards the compound, to spend the day working with Mr Stark on a suit or something. Life couldn’t get much better.

Ok, maybe it could. So far, Peter hadn’t dared tell anyone about him dating The Human Torch. Johnny was wonderfully patient, giving Peter the time and space he needed to come out to his family, his friends, the Avengers, not giving him a hard-time for hiding their relationship.

They also yet had to figure out how to best play the relationship, given that Peter had two personas, and since Johnny had a pretty much constant entourage of paparazzi, they would be in the middle of it all.

But no, Peter would not let himself be dragged down by all that, he was way to smitten to see the world as anything but bright pink.

If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel Johnny’s lips on his. Which was a bad idea, Peter realized only moments later as he wrapped himself around an antenna. _Keep your eyes on the road!_

Quickly he looked around to make sure nobody had seen him embarrass himself, before he continued his way. And not too much later, he walked into the compound, whistling some song he had stuck in his head. He heard it this morning on the radio, couldn’t really remember the title or the lyrics, but the melody was super catchy.

His heart dropped the moment he walked into the common room, though. Mr Stark sat at the table, eyeing him sternly as he walked in.

“Uh, hi.”

“Peter, sit down, please.”

Oh shit. Mr Stark’s voice was calm. Too calm. There wasn’t even a hint of a grin on his face or in his voice.

“Alright…” He sat down opposite him. “What happened? Did someone get hurt? Is it May?” Only the thought of something happening to his aunt made Peter feel sick; he felt his lungs constricting and held tightly unto the table. “Please no!” It only came out a weak whimper.

“No, no, no, Peter, nothing happened”, Mr Stark quickly reassured him, “hey, look at me. May is fine. Nobody is hurt, nothing happened.”

“Oh.” Relief washed over Peter, but he couldn’t drop that weird feeling in his stomach, telling him something was absolutely wrong. “What is going on?”

“I need to ask you something, talk about last night.”

“Alright. What happened?”

“You were patrolling with Storm, right?”

“Yes”, he answered. It wasn’t lying, if he just left a few minor details out, was it?

“Is that all you did?” Mr Stark got all interrogation mode on Peter and he was really not sure how to take that.

“What are you playing at?”

Without saying another word, Tony put a picture in front of Peter.

And his innards just started tumbling around.

Off a rooftop, Spider-Man hung upside down, the torch flying just underneath him, engaged in an upside-down kiss.

Fuck. FUCK!

That kiss had been wonderful, absolutely romantic, the perfect way to end the perfect date. But now, it felt like a slap in the face. Not because of Johnny, not because Peter would be embarrassed to be dating him, but this? This was not how he planned on coming out.

Without looking up from the picture, he addressed Mr Stark. “Did you follow me?”

“KAREN sent an alert. I came to help out. Wasn’t exactly necessary, now, was it?”

His tone was stern, and Peter felt that piece of hope chipping away with every word Mr Stark said, that hope that he, that the Avengers might embrace Peter’s identity.

“I did have back-up”, was all Peter managed to mumble.

He felt the heat rising in his face and by now he was probably as red as his suit.

“How long?”

“A few weeks”, Peter eventually responded.

“And how come this is the first I hear of this?”

Peter just shrugged. He didn’t have a good answer for the question. Yes, he was scared of his mentor’s reaction, and by the way he was interrogating Peter right now, his worries weren’t unsubstantiated. Peter fidgeted anxiously with his fingers as he felt his eyes starting to sting. _No, Peter, you will not start crying now!_

“That is not an answer.”

But Peter couldn’t answer. He worked hard to keep his breathing steady. If he were to open his mouth, try to defend himself, he would definitely start crying.

“Look at me, while I’m talking to you.”

The angered tone didn’t leave any room for discussion. Biting on his tongue, Peter looked up, locked eyes with his mentor, his father figure. He was sure, Mr Stark heard his heart beating out of his chest.

“I’m not sure, this is the best relationship”, he eventually stated.

“Excuse me?” Peter could only stare at Mr Stark with big eyes as his face fell.

“I know this sounds harsh, but…”

“It’s not harsh”, Peter interrupted him, the worry turning into rage, “it’s actually sad.”

Was Mr Stark really homophobic? Not even trying to see Peter’s point of view, telling him right off the bat that he wasn’t going to stand for it? He couldn’t believe it.

“You’d probably prefer it if it were MJ, right?” Peter knew, he sounded bitter.

“She is a much better influence on you”, Tony shrugged.

“Oh my god!” With a yell, Peter jumped up. “Kissing a guy is a bad influence? Seriously? I can’t believe this.”

Peter had to get out now, before he started bawling his eyes out. Without another word, he turned around and headed for the open window.

“Peter, kid, no, that’s not…”

He didn’t bother to wait for Mr Stark to finish his sentence. With one leap he was out the window, swinging into the city, heading straight for Baxter Building.

“KAREN”, he asked, as he fought the tears, “deactivate my tracker.”

“I am not at liberty to…”

“JUST FUCKING DO IT!”, he cried.

“Tracker deactivated.”

“Thanks.”

Hopefully Johnny would be home. If not, Peter really had no idea what to do. He was lucky, light was burning, and he carefully knocked on the window.

“Peter!” Johnny opened the window, the widest grin on his face, pulling the mask off Peter’s face as he climbed inside. “What did I do to deserve the most wonderful person on the planet gracing me with a visit?”

That was too much. Peter could no longer stop the tears from falling down and buried his face in Johnny’s shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Immediately, Johnny’s arms wrapped themselves around Peter, pulling him close.

“I got you”, he whispered reassuringly, softly tousling his hair. “I got you.”

Peter lost all sense of time, he had no idea how long he was pressed against Johnny, but it didn’t matter. It was safe and comforting and soothing.

“Thanks”, he managed to choke out eventually, as he unwrapped himself and wiped a few ears from his face.

“Anytime. That’s what boyfriends are for, right?”, he smiled.

Boyfriend! The notion made Peter’s heart skip a beat or two. Johnny was his boyfriend. Whether Mr Stark liked it or not. Gratefully, he softly brushed their lips together.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”, Johnny asked, as they sat cuddled up together on his bed.

“Mr Stark found out we’re dating. Apparently, he came last night to help us out, instead he found us upside down.”

“Oh damn. And he didn’t take it well?”

Peter just shook his head.

“Shit. Peter I’m so sorry.” Johnny pressed a kiss against Peter’s head, gently stroking his arm.

“JOHNNY!”

Wow, his sister really had the best timing.

“NOT NOW”, he called back, not moving away from Peter, for which he was very grateful. He was also grateful that the FF knew about their relationship, meaning he didn’t have to hide, when only moments later, Sue banged against his door.

“WHAT?”

“You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Tony.”

Peter felt his heart drop. Oh no, please not!

“Tell him to go away!”, Johnny called back, before pulling Peter even closer.

“Just… Peter, are you here?”

Peter turned, pressing his face against Johnny’s chest. He didn’t want to see Mr Stark right now, he didn’t want to talk to him or whatever.

“He doesn’t want to talk to you.”

Johnny’s protectiveness was really something wonderful.

“I understand. I fucked up, I did. Listen, kid, I think we really need to talk. But… I get if you don’t want to talk to me right now. Please come to me, call me or something when you are ready for my apologies. Alright, then”, Tony mumbled after a few moments of silence. “I hope I’ll see you, soon.”

With that, he heard the two grownups walking away. And only now, Peter realized, he had held his breath for the last minute or so and pulled away from Johnny, gasping for air.

“You alright?” With concern written all over his face, Johnny cupped Peter’s face, brushing a few dark locks from his forehead.

Silently, Peter nodded, before leaning in, resting his forehead against Johnny’s. He tried steadying his breathing, tried syncing it up with Johnny, and, after a little while, he calmed down.

“Can I come in?”, Sue asked, following a soft knock.

“Sure.”

“Hey, Peter.” She walked in and sat down beside him, gently putting her hand on his arm.

“Sorry, I snuck in.”

“Yeah, we’ll have a talk about Johnny having secret boyfriend-visits. But for now… Are you alright?”

“No”, Peter shook his head and gratefully took her outstretched hand.

“I understand you don’t want to see Tony right now, I really get it. But promise me, you’ll talk to him. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, it doesn’t have to end well, but eventually, just talk to him. Not for his sake. For yours.” It was really comforting, having her gently stroke his arm.

“Ok”, he answered after a few moments of quiet. “I promise.”

.

Peter held out for a few days, trying to get his thoughts sorted, trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to tell Mr Stark. It went that far, that he started writing everything down, developing a little speech.

But with things between him and Tony being rocky, that brought another issue. His aunt. Peter could see that she was worried about him, for good reason, admittedly. He hadn’t really slept all that well the last few days and had not once spoken of Mr Stark or the Avengers. May kept her distance, giving Peter the space to figure it out himself, for which he was endlessly grateful. But still, the time for lies was over. Peter wanted to come clean.

“May? Can we talk a moment?” He shuffled into the living room, where his aunt was laying on a couch, her nose buried in a book. As he walked in, she looked up, something in her features changing, Peter couldn’t quite place it though. It was something like gladness that he came to her with his issues, mixed with worry.

“Of course.” She out her book away and Peter dropped down next to her. “What’s going on?”

“I’m seeing someone.” Talking around it wasn’t gonna make this any easier, so he should just get it over with.

“Oh really?” May’s face lit up. “That is wonderful! Who is it?”

Peter took a deep breath before answering her question. “I’m dating a guy.” He stared down on his lap, where he nervously fidgeted with his fingers. “I’m bisexual.”

“Oh honey!” Before he knew what happened, she had wrapped herself around him. “Thank you for telling me!”

Was there a word between eternally gratefully and utterly confused? Peter leaned into the hug, all the anxiety dropping away as he felt so much lighter.

“I love you, Peter, you know that, right? I love you so, so much and I think you are perfect just the way you are.”

And cue all the dams breaking; tears rolling down his cheek. “I love you, too!”, he managed to sob.

“Honey, you know that when you’re crying, I’ll start crying, too”, May chuckled, but he could hear her getting choked up.

“Sorry”, he sniffled, wiping the tears off his face as he leaned back. “Those are all happy tears!”

“I know. So, this guy you’re dating… Who is he? Do I know him?”

“Well”, he shrugged, “you know of him. It’s Johnny Storm.”

“The Human Torch?” May’s face fell as she looked at him with big eyes. “from the Fantastic Four?”

“That’s the one”, he nodded.

“Oh wow. You have been partnering up a lot lately, I might have guessed it.” Her astonished grimace developed into a smile. “So, how are things going?”

“They’re going really well.” Peter couldn’t stop his eyes from lighting up, beaming at his aunt. “He is so super considerate and patient with me, you know, figuring it all out, and he is funny, and sweet and really hot.”

“Well”, May giggled, “he is The Human Torch…”

“And that’s just the cherry on top”, Peter continued, “he knows what this weird superhero life is all about! He gets it, you know?”

“I’m really happy for you. We should have him over at dinner some time soon! I would love to get to know him.”

“He does, too.”

Wow, talking to his aunt was just amazing.

“Do you mind, if I head out for a little bit?”, he asked after the next round of hugging and a last few happy tears had rolled down his cheek.

“Off to the Storm residence?”

“No, the compound. There’s some stuff I need to say to Mr Stark.”

“I figured something happened there. Do you want to talk about it?”, she offered.

“Let’s just say coming out to him wasn’t as wonderful as with you just now. I’ve been working the last few days on what I need to tell him.”

“Ok, honey. Do you want me to come with you?”

“No. I have to do this alone”, Peter decided.

“I understand. Remember, whatever happens, I love you. Unconditionally, no matter what. You are an amazing and wonderful person, just perfect the way you are. Never forget that.” She softly pressed her lips on his head.

“I love you, too!”

.

“KAREN, can you please tell Mr Stark that I’m on my way to him?”

“Message is delivered.”

“Thanks. And could you send one to Johnny please? Tell him, that I’m about to talk to Mr Stark and I’ll call him tonight.”

“Message is sent.”

“Thanks, KAREN! I’d really be lost without you, wouldn’t I?”

“I imagine so”, she answered, sounding slightly playful, if that could be said about and AI. “Mr Stark is awaiting you upstairs in the penthouse.”

“Alright.”

Peter took a deep breath, as he walked into the compound doors, into the elevator, heading upstairs. In his left hand he clawed into his mask, using it as a fidget toy. In his right hand he had his notes, holding on for dear life.

“Peter.” Mr Stark greeted him with a warm smile and Peter wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it.

“Mr Stark.” He didn’t even give the man a chance to speak, he pulled his notes up and started reading right away.

“I have worked on what to tell you for the last few days, so please, let me get through this, no interrupting.” To keep from panicking, he focused all his attention on the piece of paper in front of him.

“I am bisexual. It’s not just a phase, it’s not just something that’s cool to be and it’s definitely not something I made up for attention.

“Furthermore, I am in a relationship with a boy. We have been going out for a few weeks and it’s been absolutely wonderful. I can understand that it felt bad, finding out about me and Johnny by accident and not because I told you. Same goes for my sexuality.

“I am not making excuses and apologies though. I am who I am and that is first and foremost just me, Peter. Who I’m into really shouldn’t change your opinion about me, same way I don’t judge you for not liking jelly babies.

“I really like you a lot and our time together means a lot to me. I thought we had gotten so close; MJ and Ned always refer to you as my Irondad and well, your opinion is important to me.

“That’s why when you told me you don’t want me to be with Johnny, with a boy, I just couldn’t handle it. You not accepting me for who I really am… it felt, like I lost another father figure and that really sucks.

“I can understand if it takes you a little while to get used to me being bi and that I can accept. Please don’t give me any false hope though; if you can’t deal with me dating a guy, please just let me know, so I can finish this chapter and we can both move on.

I’m am finished now.”

Peter had barely looked up from his notes, when he was all of a sudden in Mr Stark’s arms. Alright, not what Peter expected.

“Pete, I am so incredibly sorry. But I’m so much prouder for you finding out who you are and being true to that. You’re an incredible person and I am so fucking glad and honoured that I get to call you my Spiderson.”

Completely flabbergasted, Peter twisted in the embrace to look Tony in the face. “You are?”

“Of course I am! I should have told you all of this on Friday, but I’m a fucking idiot who got so caught up in the secrecy of it all… I’m sorry for what I put you through.”

“Huh.” Peter really had no idea what to say. The best case scenario he had imagined was them agreeing to take it slow for a while, until things could go back to normal. But this?

“You want to know the best part?”

It got better? Peter could only look up at Tony with big eyes.

“I’m bisexual, too”, he grinned.

“Really?”

Oh wow. OH WOW!

“Yup”, Tony nodded, with a wide smile.

“Then why were you so negative? Told me that this relationship wasn’t good or whatever?” Peter was utterly confused. This didn’t make sense!

“That didn’t have anything to do with you dating a guy it’s…”

“Wait, your issue is with Johnny?”

Mr Stark nodded.

“Why?” Peter couldn’t understand why Mr Stark wouldn’t want them to be together.

“He has quite the reputation, dropping girls and guys left and right, more interested in partying and being the centre of attention than anything else.”

“That’s what you think about him?”

Peter was actually hurt on Johnny’s behalf that someone would make assumptions like this.

“I’m just worried what kind of influence he has on you”, Tony continued, “I don’t want to see you heartbroken because of some playboy.”

“Well, first of all, I think this is a little rich coming from you.” Wow, Peter wasn’t just hurt, he was pissed, too.

“How do you think I recognize the signs?”, Tony answered, trying to play over the hurtful memories, Peter’s last comment had woken up.

“Well, how do you know I’m not his Pepper?”, he shot back, crossing his arms. “Besides, do you know anything else about him than what you see in the news? Because if that is your standard, then I’m the worst menace this city has ever seen.”

Tony stayed silent. Peter had a point and Mr Stark knew it.

“What the news don’t report on, is how incredibly patient he was, he is with me, figuring myself out; he is the most gentle person you will ever meet, always making sure I’m alright, I’m comfortable, because he knows that this is my first relationship.”

Peter could go on, but for now this should suffice.

“I’m sorry, kid. Man, it’s your first relationship and I’m being a total asshole about it”, Tony moaned. “I’m really, really sorry. I mean, he makes you happy, right? And he’s not pressuring you into anything, is he?”

“Yes, he makes me so happy and no, he isn’t.”

“Then I shouldn’t oppose you being with him”, Tony admitted.

“May has asked to have dinner together, to get to know him. Maybe you should join us.”

“I would like that”, he nodded and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

.

“Hey, Nat, how do I look?”

“Damn, Peter! Gonna break all the boys’ and girls’ hearts”, she grinned and motioned for him to turn and as dramatically as he could, he obliged. The outfit was a simple one, nice jeans a simple blue shirt (for this special occasion he had decided against one of his science pun shirts, even though he loved them more than anything else in his closet; well, except maybe for his Spidey suit).

“I don’t wanna break any heart, I’d just like to steal the one…”

“As far as I’ve gathered, you already did. But I guess you didn’t come to me for fashion advice.”

“I did not”, Peter admitted, and stared on his toes as a flush crept over his face. “How do I get Mr Stark to like him?”, he asked, shily looking up at Nat.

“That is not your responsibility”, she stated. “Tony is a grown man; he’s got to deal with his feelings by himself; in this case accepting and respecting your feelings and choices.”

“And what if he can’t?”

“That’s still his issue. If he does let it out on you or Johnny, just let me know and I’ll tear him a new one.”

“Johnny Storm has arrived”, FRIDAY announced.

“Guess that’s my cue”, Peter grinned. “Thanks for the advice and offer, I already feel so much better and will definitely get back to you if necessary!”

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Welcome to the compound, Mr Storm”, Peter greeted Johnny with a wide smile, “and may I say you look lovely as ever.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr Parker”, he grinned back and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend in greeting.

“Come on.” Peter all but pushed Johnny towards the elevator. “FRI, penthouse, please.”

_Breathe, Johnny, just breathe!_

“Don’t be nervous, my aunt’s really nice.”

“It’s not her I’m scared of”, Johnny admitted.

“You don’t have to worry about Mr Stark. Pepper is there as well, keeping an eye on him. And Natasha already promised to take care of him, if he’s not nice.”

“Damn”, Johnny wondered, “you really got some of the most powerful people doing your bidding, huh?”

“They all just like me so very much”, Peter smiled.

“Can’t blame them for that…”

A ‘ping’ announced their arrival and the elevator doors opened into the Stark living room, where they were already awaited.

After Peter gently nudged him,, Johnny walked into the penthouse, holding the flowerbouquets out as if they were protective shields. “Uhm, hi. I’m Johnny.”

“Hello Johnny, it’s so wonderful to meet you!” The woman that walked up to him, had to be Peter’s aunt. “I’m May”, she smiled and held her hand out.

“It’s so nice to meet you, too”, he smiled back and shook her outstrechted hand. “Uh, Peter told me that you really like sunflowers…” With a shy grin, he handed her the flowers.

“Oh, they are beautiful! Thank you, so much!”

“And these are for you.” He turned to Pepper and handed her the other bouquet. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”

“The pleasure is all mine”, Ms Potts smiled. “Thank you for these!” She smelled at the flowers, Johnny had no idea what they were called, they just looked and smelled so nice. “May, I have some vases in the kitchen, let’s get these in some water.”

As the women walked out, Johnny was left with two very stern looking men.

“Mr Stark, Mr Hogan, thank you for the invitation.” Johnny hoped that his anxiety didn’t show all that clearly on his face as he greeted them.

“It’s nice to see you, Storm.” Stark tried very hard to sound sincere and friendly, his smile didn’t look the part, though.

Suddenly, he felt Peter next to him, their sides pressed together and Johnny immediately felt so much better.

.

“What are your intentions with our Peter?” After staying relatively quiet during the conversations, Stark all but blurted out this gem. FUN!

“Tony”, Pepper hissed.

“No, it’s alright”, Johnny threw in. “You’re worried about him, I get that. I know I don’t have the best reputation, but I’m really into Peter.” He looked over at Peter, who blushed, and Johnny couldn’t help but smile. “So, my only intention is to get to know him, both of him.”

Johnny probably gave a good answer, May and Pepper smiled widely and even Stark and Hogan looked like they could live with the answer.

“Alright then. Just remember: Peter has the entirety of the Avengers on his side. Screw him over and you got all of us on your ass.”

“What Tony meant to say”, Pepper threw in, “is that it’s nice that you care so much about Peter.”

“No, I really didn’t”, Tony clarified.

“It’s alright”, Johnny assured the grown-ups, “the Fantastic Four would join in on that. And so would Deadpool, Murdock, hey, probably all the Defenders. I am very aware that I’m dating New York’s most beloved superhero. At least by other superheroes…”

“Aw”, Peter grinned.

“But being afraid of you is definitely not why I don’t want to hurt him.” He smiled over at Peter, grabbed his hand under the table.

“Yeah, well”, Tony grumbled, though there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I should damn well hope so!”


	5. The One Where They Try And Break Twitter

“Thank you all, for meeting with us.”

Peter and Johnny stood in the middle of the big living room at the compound, looking around the assembled Avengers, Fantastic Four and May.

“Please get to the point, so I can decide whether to have a heart attack or not”, Tony demanded.

“There’s no need for a heart attack”, Peter assured him.

“It’s actually wonderful news”, Johnny grinned, “Peter is pregnant!”

“Shut it, Storm”, Peter groaned and elbowed him into his side. “Don’t listen to him; he’s done talking for today.”

“Yes, sir”, Johnny winked and pretended to zip his lips.

“Anyways. By now, everybody should have gotten that we are a thing.” Peter gestured between him and Johnny, who shot him a wide, lovestruck grin.

“Oh, young Peter, these are wonderful news!”, Thor boomed with the biggest grin. “Huzzah to the young lovers!”

“You better not be lovers”, Tony grumbled and motioned for Thor to sit back down. “Keep going, Pete.”

“We’ve decided to go public. Well, Johnny and Spider-Man have decided to go public with their relationship.”

“Wow, that’s big.”

“Yeah, it is”, Peter nodded. “We decided that The Torch should best date Spider-Man, because that way I’m not in the eye of the public.”

“And it’s like it was back in medieval times: two mighty houses strengthen their bond by marrying off their children”, Johnny giggled.

“Seriously, dude, shut it!”, Peter hissed.

“Alright, so, Spidey and Torch are the new hot couple in town”, Mr Stark summarized. “Do you want to do a press conference?”

“What? No!”, both teens answered in unison.

“Saturday is pride, we’ll just join the parade”, Peter shrugged.

“We do need your statement for the press the day after, though”, Pepper said, “otherwise it’s a whole PR issue.”

“We talked about that, too”, Johnny said. “And decided that we’re not going to do that.”

“We’re not doing this to be in the news”, Peter continued, before anybody could interject.

“We’re doing this to be there for others like us! Kids, Teens, all the millennial and Gen Z people, everyone who feels like something’s wrong with them, to show them that it’s alright!”

“The friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is here for the little guy. So, no, we’re not holding a big press conference, we’re doing this our way.”

“Which is…?”

“Talk to the people at pride, get trending on twitter, I don’t know”, Johnny shrugged.

“Alright then, you guys know what’s best for you.” May got up and put her arm around Johnny and Peter’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you crazy kids”

“Thanks.”

“I guess I can make do, if PR’s making trouble”, Pepper smiled.

“And I might have something for you.” Tony got up and headed for the door. “You coming?”

“Uh, yeah.” Peter walked up and with his arm around the shoulder, Mr Stark led him towards the lab.

“I’m proud of you, kiddo. You’re plan… It’s so you”, the man laughed.

“I think that sounds like a compliment”, Peter mused, scrunching his face together.”

“Oh, definitely. And this here should help the whole thing.” With a wide smile, he handed a box to Peter. “Happy pride. And yes, you can see this as my official blessing to your and Johnny’s relationship.”

“Ok…”, Peter took the box, a little hesitantly, and glanced inside. “Oh, you got to be freaking kidding me!”, he cried out and got his new suit out; no longer red and blue, but pink, purple and blue; the bi pride flag. “AHAHAHAHA!”, he squealed, and jumped into Mr Stark’s arms.

“I take it, you like the new design?”, Mr Stark, chuckled, as he wrapped his arms around Peter.

“I LOVE IT! Thanks so, so, so, so much!”

“What do you say, wanna try it on?”

“Of course!”, Peter squealed and unwrapped himself from Mr Stark.

“Hurry. I’ll be upstairs waiting for the fashion show, alright?”

“I’ll be right there!”, Peter yelled, already having his shirt pulled off. This was so freaking cool. And to think about the story he went through with Mr Stark, of thinking he didn’t accept Peter for who he was, to actually designing him a bi-flag-Spidey-suit!

And, omigod, it looked amazing! The blue was still blue, but the red was now pink and the spider on the front was purple. It looked fantastic. Oh, Peter had to show Johnny, he’d be so freaking psyched! And maybe even a little jealous that Peter had a fantastic suit like that.

Excitedly, he skipped back upstairs to the living room, announcing his presence, just before he burst into the room: “Are you ready for everybody’s favourite superhero: BIDER-MAN!”

“OMIGOD!” Johnny giggled, “you look incredible!”

“I’ve really outdone myself this time”, Mr Stark nodded proudly.

“Wow, kid, you look amazing!”

“This way, pride will be eating you up!”

.

It was the most amazing day, EVER! Peter and Johnny were celebrated like neither of them had ever been before. It was a massive outcry when they arrived, Peter in his Bi-der-Man suit and Johnny… Well, everything they tried, every flag and whatsoever, all of it burned down. Instead, he kept on writing hearts in the sky.

Mr Stark had actually arranged a little float for them, but they didn’t really use it, they swung, flew around, and just interacted with everybody else, there; taking plenty of pictures, and just chatting away.

The only time they actually used the float was for their big announcement. Neither of them was in the mood for talking or any big speeches, so they went for the demonstration instead. In one swift movement, Peter rolled his mask up to his nose and pulled Johnny in for a kiss, wrapped around each other; momentarily blocking out all the cheers and yells around them. In short: It was the perfect kiss.

.

Trending:

1 #SpideyTorch

2 #Bider-Man

.

Camilla @camisol

OMIGOD! Spider-Man and The Human Torch said gay rights!

#biderman #spideytorch

LukeLuke @youmyfather

Best! Pride! Ever!

#spideytorch

Spidey-News @spideynews

Spider-Man seen kissing Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch at NY pride, while draped in a bisexual flag

#spideytorch

Torchfan#1 @hothotjohnny

Man, he’s off the market. Not that I’d ever stood a chance 😉

#spideytorch

The Noblessa @noblewoman

I KNEW IT! I knew they were on a date!

[gif of Captain Raymond Holt: VINDICATION!]

#Spideytorch

.

**The Daily Bugle**

Spider-Menace kicking our good Christian values into the dirt

Not only is the masked vigilante a dangerous menace to our city, it’s buildings and people, but as of Saturday, he is also against our values and morals. He and the Human Torch were seen in less than proper circumstances during the shame that is New York Pride.

**New York Times**

Spider-Man comes out as bisexual as he makes his relationship with The Human Torch public

The vigilantes were the main focus at Saturday’s pride parade in New York. In a suit of all pink, blue and purple, Spider-Man arrived together with the Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm. After mingling with the celebrating masses, they took a stance on the float and with a kiss, they made the relationship public.

Neither the Avengers nor the Fantastic Four have made any statements so far.

.

“Looks like we made quite the stir”, Johnny snickered, draped halfway over Peter’s lap, scrolling through his twitter.

“A small part of me hoped for us to actually crash twitter…”, Peter admitted with a laugh. “But being the top trends is pretty good, too.”

“It’s especially great, to be trending and on the news for something good, hasn’t happened all that often to me…”

“Wait, so I’m just here for your image?”, Peter asked, looking ready to push flamebrains off his lap.

“That’s just a plus”, he grinned up. “One of the advantages of dating the most amazing person.”

“Aw”, Peter smiled, “good save, hothead.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not planning on messing this up.”

“Good. Because I did just come out for you, so…”

“So I owe you?”, Johnny guessed.

“A hot hotdog. Once, at least.”

“What, like right now?”

“Nah”, Peter shook his head, “I’m way too comfy right now. You can kiss me, though.”

“With absolute pleasure!”


End file.
